Gama Aviation's Middle East operation, based at Sharjah International airport, has welcomed a Learjet 60XR and a Piaggio Avanti EVO to its fleet, with a Learjet 60 expected to follow shortly. The LR60XR and EVO will be available for charter and the EVO is the first of its type to be registered by the UAE GCAA.

“The Learjet 60XR will be used for ad hoc VIP transportation and we expect that the LR60 will mostly be used for air ambulance work,” says commercial manager Oliver Hewson. “They fill a nice gap in the market, because at the moment there is a real lack of midsize jets available for charter in the Middle East. We did a lot of preliminary marketing before the aircraft became available and there is already a lot of interest, because the trend at the moment is that people are downsizing. Since oil prices were hit a couple of years ago, even the Saudi market has been looking at smaller aircraft to use. Such jets are desperately needed in the region, so we are excited about getting them up and running.”

There is also a shortage of Middle Eastern medevac operators, according to Hewson. “Typically most of the air ambulance work in the region is served by European operators, so having the Learjets based at our FBO at Sharjah International will aid response times. Both aircraft have been delivered with Spectrum Aeromed stretcher systems so they can be quickly reconfigured from executive seating into a medevac layout by our on-site engineers in Sharjah.”

Operating the first EVO in the region is a coup for Gama; it is the only charter aircraft of its type currently available in the GCC. “It became available this week and has already been booked twice for hops around the Gulf,” Hewson states. “There aren't that many turboprops for charter in the region, so we are not entirely sure how it will be received, but it is a fantastic aircraft with a beautiful cabin. The cabin is the size of a Hawker, it is very comfortable and it is the fastest civilian turboprop in the world. Considering the low operating costs compared to a jet, and current market conditions, it really does present a value proposition to charterers in the GCC.”

Gama is also breaking ground this month on a new business aviation facility at Sharjah. At over $30 million, it is the biggest investment that the company has made anywhere in the world. The facilities will include 25,000 sqm of apron parking space, 10,000 sqm of hangarage, a brand new FBO, VIP catering facilities and new office space for Gama and other business aviation companies.

“The reason we are investing so heavily in Sharjah is because our current FBO traffic has been increasing month on month. We think this is mainly due to how restricted Dubai International has become in terms of slot and parking availability, airspace and taxiway congestion, even the high cost of parking,” explains Hewson. “With the close vicinity of Sharjah International to downtown Dubai, people are really starting to realise the value of using the Sharjah FBO. We aim to have the new facility ready by the end of 2018.”